


hate to see you leaving (a fate worse than dying)

by pissland



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exiled Tubbo, Fluff, Gen, President Tubbo, dream is a bastard, ranboo's gotta deal with a lotta shit, title from wilbur soot's jubilee line, will tag as more people show up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28981773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pissland/pseuds/pissland
Summary: “If… If I do this, you’ll leave L’Manberg alone? You promise?” The anxious strain in Tubbo’s voice had morphed into a violent tremble, his fear and worry taking over.“I will.” A lie. Ranboo knew it was a lie. Dream knew it was a lie. Tubbo must have known it was a lie. He wanted to scream and shout at his friend, tell him not to do this, tell him his life meant so much more than a stupid nation.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 2
Kudos: 69





	hate to see you leaving (a fate worse than dying)

**Author's Note:**

> so i thought. what would happen if tubbo was exiled instead of tommy . so here we are . enjoy!

The plan wasn’t simple. 

But the execution was perfect.

With Ranboo’s wrist grasped in his palm, Tubbo turned on his Thief Mode. Softly singing the James Bond theme, they hid behind walls, very carefully sneaking out of view from Puffy and Niki. Big Crime would be very pleased, Tubbo grinned at the thought. 

Ranboo, however, was not the biggest fan of what was happening, but he didn’t think he had much of a choice. Who was he to decline the President’s wishes? The first person who’d given him a home? Besides, Tommy even said that robbery and minor crimes similar were completely acceptable on this server! Especially when he was killed three times by Dream when he first joined. Ranboo was sure there was nothing to be worried about. Crimes were just a part of life, here, surely.

Then why did he feel a dawning sense of, for lack of a better term,  _ Shit’s Gonna Hit The Fan _ ?

Tubbo was not worried in the slightest, even wearing his presidential uniform to show how much he didn’t give a damn. L’Manberg was built off of crime! Might as well honour the legacy of it!

  
“C’mon, Rambo! This way!” He giggled in delight at the thought of Gogy’s face opening his chests and finding  _ nothing _ . Absolutely priceless. 

Wow, Tommy’s really had an affect on him, huh?

Nevertheless, Tubbo felt like he deserved to enact at least a  _ bit _ of crime. Especially considering half the shit that went down only a few weeks before. It was only fair! If people were going to blow up his nation, his  _ home _ , then he deserved to do at least a little bit of a robbery. As a treat. 

As the two of them neared to George’s house, Tubbo took one final look at the premises before telling Ranboo to, quote, ‘LEG IT TO THE HOUSE!’

Once they were in, it became a matter of what they were going to steal. Taking looks in the chests, it was clear that none of George’s meaningful valuables were kept in this house. That was fine, though, they could always burn a lot of the shitty things kept in the chests, and keep the mediocre items. Ranboo flashed Tubbo a thumbs up, lighting a fire with a flint and steel he found in one of the chests. What he wasn’t counting for, however, was for  _ the whole place to get burned down _ . He grabbed Tubbo by the hand and dragged him outside, lest  _ he _ get hurt by the problem Ranboo caused.

“Oh god, Rambo, it’s all burning down, what should we do?” Despite the words seeming as though they were intended to sound panicked, nothing could hide the obvious smile in Tubbo’s voice. 

In his defense, fire and destruction had always been used  _ against _ him, against his friends, against his  _ home _ , from day ONE! Was feeling joy about this really a bad thing? If nobody had any regard for  _ his _ safety, for  _ his _ property, why should he have any regard for others’? 

“Uh- I don’t- I don’t know. I’m sorry, Tubbo. I didn’t mean-”

  
  
“No, it’s alright, Rambo! Who cares! If Gogy really wants it back, he can just rebuild it. Not our problem.”

Ranboo’s brows furrowed, before his face relaxed once more. Tubbo was his friend, he wouldn’t lie. He was clearly experienced with setting other people’s buildings on fire, plus he’d been here a lot longer than Ranboo had. 

No need to worry. 

(Even if the sinking feeling felt like drowning.)

~

On their bench(™), Tubbo sat with Tommy, enjoying the music of  _ Cat _ . He glanced over at his best friend, and upon seeing the happiness and light on his face, Tubbo grinned. Tommy hadn’t looked this peaceful in a long time. Before, he always had a tremor in his hands, a frown on his face, fury in his eyes. But everything happened, everyone disappeared. Tommy could finally relax, take a break from all the bullshit. And Tubbo couldn’t be happier.

“What'd’you get up to today, Big Man?” Tommy asked, his gaze still on the horizon.

“Nothing much, actually! I did accidentally burn down Gogy’s house, but that’s about it.”

Tommy gave his usual ‘PAH-HA!’, before turning to Tubbo and raising his eyebrows in surprise, “You- HA! I really have corrupted you. Wait- Accidentally? How do you- How do you  _ accidentally _ burn down someone’s house?”

“Well, originally, I was just gonna rob it, but I didn’t have the inventory room, so I thought I would burn the pointless items instead of keep them,” He decided not to mention Ranboo’s ‘help’ for that part; he did seem pretty anxious at the scene, “But… that didn’t go as planned,” Tubbo nervously giggled, fidgeting with his hands. Tommy laughed loudly, wrapping an arm around his friend’s shoulders.

“I’m proud of you, Tubbo.” Something told Tubbo that Tommy’s words weren’t just about the robbery and sort-of-accidental-arson he’d just committed. It was about everything. Everything that happened. Tubbo returned the half-hug and smiled brightly at his best friend. 

“Oh! Tubbo, we should go visit L’Manberg, apparently Ghostbur’s made it look brand new!” 

“Really? Yeah, let’s go check it out!”

On their way across the Prime Path, Tommy had grabbed his hand, almost dragging him. Despite the seemingly aggressive action, Tubbo smiled fondly at his best friend. 

They stopped at the peak of the path, just before the staircase descended down, so they could get the greatest view.

And god, wasn’t L’Manberg beautiful. The light of the soft sun complimented the dark of the wood covering everything. The impact of the explosion was still visible, yes, but that didn’t make the architecture any less angelic. The floating lanterns felt almost like a symbol, to keep looking up.

Obviously, it wasn’t like Old L’Manberg, but maybe that was okay. 

Maybe it  _ was  _ all going to be okay.

  
  
  
  
  
  


...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Until it wasn’t.

Ranboo was awoken by the sound of clattering; the sound of a sword (and possibly armour), dropping on the ground. He heard two whispered voices, one seemingly scared, the other calm. He was relatively sure he recognised one of them.

At least, he hoped so.

He opened his memory book, and skimmed his list of friends. It had to be one of them, right?

…Tubbo. It was Tubbo, he realised. But… that meant Tubbo was the scared voice. Tubbo was scared? Was he in trouble? Who was the other voice? What was it doing to Tubbo?

Ranboo immediately sat up, the sleepy ache slowly seeping out of his bones as he grabbed his sword. It was still only diamond; he hadn’t been there long enough to coat it with netherite, but it was still enchanted. He could still fight with it, if he really needed to. 

He hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

After grabbing a few other things he’d need, he sneaked out of his wooden home, his sword clutched in his hands. He creeped along the pathway, making sure he didn’t take any heavily weighted steps. Even a creak could alert whoever was terrorising Tubbo.

When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Ranboo saw two silhouettes. One was holding a dark block, obsidian or blackstone if he had to guess, the other was almost shrivelled up, faux confidence clear in his stance.

“You can’t- You can’t do this, Dream. You’re not in charge of the nation, I am. I suggest you leave.” The underlying strain of terror was clear in Tubbo’s voice. 

God, the other person just  _ had  _ to be Dream, didn’t it? The one person Ranboo definitely could not fight. He didn’t remember the specifics, but he clearly remembered the fear and pain of dying thrice to his axe when he first landed in Esempi. Anxiety swirled in his gut as he gazed and listened to the man’s encounter with Tubbo. He prayed that worst wouldn’t come to worst, that Tubbo wouldn’t get hurt. But his prayers rarely got answered, and he knew this wouldn’t be an exception.

“Tubbo, you _ set fire _ and  _ destroyed _ my friend’s home. It’s only fair I punish you and your nation for what you did to George. These walls will be raised every single day all the way to THE LIMIT. That is,” Dream’s tone drastically softened, a voice that Ranboo would only describe as  _ manipulative _ , “unless you leave.”

“I… I leave? What do you mean, ‘I leave’?” The seeds of dread in Ranboo’s chest began to grow into thick roots, threading in between his lungs. 

“What do you THINK I mean? You have to  _ leave _ , Tubbo. Right now.” His heartbeat felt like a metronome of drums echoing in his head. Dream wanted Tubbo to go? Why? What about  _ L’Manberg _ ? What about  _ Tommy _ ? The two of them seemed closer than ever,“You have to never return. Never tell anybody that you left. Only then, will your nation be safe.”

Tubbo remained silent. His entire world must have been crumbling around him, and Ranboo wasn’t even helping! All he could do was  _ watch _ as his first friend, the one who  _ gave him a home _ , was forced to leave everything he knew.

“If… If I do this, you’ll leave L’Manberg alone? You promise?” The anxious strain in Tubbo’s voice had morphed into a violent tremble, his fear and worry taking over.

“I will.” A lie. Ranboo knew it was a lie. Dream knew it was a lie. Tubbo  _ must _ have known it was a lie. He wanted to scream and shout at his friend, tell him not to do this, tell him his life meant so much more than a stupid nation. 

But he didn’t.

He watched.

He watched as Tubbo morosely nodded, he watched as tears glistened his face, he watched as he was forced to row away, in a cursed boat, never to be seen again.

He watched as his friend disappeared.

He was wrong. There was  _ so much _ need for worry.

**Author's Note:**

> updates will be sporadic but they will happen!! i have a lot planned :)


End file.
